No matter what the Jets current quarterback thinks about it, the paper reports there have been “serious” internal discussions in the organization about whether it should try to entice Peyton to become the second Manning boy to quarterback a New York team.

“I think any team in the league without an elite quarterback has to be interested in a healthy Peyton Manning,” a team source told Mehta.

But that doesn’t mean everybody in the organization believes the Jets should get involved in the Manning sweepstakes. And that doesn’t mean Manning would want to involve himself with the Jets.

After all, the organization wasn’t exactly stable in 2011 -- with Rex Ryan’s guarantees and Santonio Holmes basically quitting and Bart Scott shooting reporters the finger and, well, just about everything that’s happened there in the past 12 months -- and Manning’s presence might add to the instability.

Leave aside for the moment about the Tony Sparano issue -- would the new offensive coordinator want to change his conservative offensive philosophy to acquiesce to whatever Manning wants? -- the Jets have to weigh the risks of trying to land Manning.

“Can you imagine if word gets out that we’re trying to get Peyton Manning and then we don’t get Peyton Manning?” a member of the organization asked the paper. “Then we have to play with Sanchez?”

But according to general manager Mike Tannenbaum, every option is open in the name of improving the team.

"You still have to do what’s in the best interest of the team," Tannenbaum said last month. "My philosophy is you’ve got to be aggressive, you have to know what’s going on out there, and you have to look for opportunities. Sometimes there will be consequences, some are intended, some are unintended, and with that, you kind of factor that into the equation, and then you go from there."

A week in Indianapolis proved a lesson already learned at the Super Bowl: if you're involved in football and have a pulse, you'll be asked about Peyton Manning. This is particularly true if the person in question is in charge of a football roster and has a shaky quarterback situation. Just ask Rex Ryan, who wouldn't rule out the possibility of taking a look at Peyton if the right opportunity presented itself.

Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum took a similar approach when asked specifically if the Jets would "kick the tires" in a recent radio interview.

"It’s really important that we always try to improve the team," Tannenbaum said, via the New York Post. "With that said, I expect Mark Sanchez to be our quarterback next year, but when we have opportunities to improve our team that’s what we’re going to do."

But what about hurting Sanchez' confidence with the potential pursuit of a player like Peyton?

"You still have to do what’s in the best interest of the team," Tannenbaum said. "My philosophy is you’ve got to be aggressive, you have to know what’s going on out there, and you have to look for opportunities. Sometimes there will be consequences, some are intended, some are unintended, and with that, you kind of factor that into the equation, and then you go from there."

Pursuing Manning at this point probably wouldn't do much to hurt Sanchez' feelings; the Jets have already made it clear that they're willing to at least consider Manning if and when he hits the free-agent market. (Though it's worth noting that their discussion of Manning doesn't really cross the line that Romeo Crennel did, in as much as it's about a specific talent.)

And if Manning's hits free agency, the Jets will warrant consideration as a spot where he could end up playing. They've gone down the veteran road before, they have offensive line talent and some weapons on offense and a defense that could put them over the top if it can bounce back from a poor showing in 2011.

But Manning would also have to be willing to play in the same city as his brother and deal with the harsh media spotlight that is the Big Apple. Even if the Jets could bring Reggie Wayne into the mix -- and idea floated on Wednesday -- it still might be a long shot. But that doesn't mean the Jets won't examine it.

Santonio Holmes was at the center of the disaster that was the Jets 2011 season, repeatedly calling out his offensive line and being blamed for some of the locker room problems. But he's going to remain a Jet for the foreseeable future, as the team now owes him a chunk of guaranteed money for 2011 and 2012.

The Jets could certainly cut Holmes over the next two years; there's nothing stopping them. But doing so would be throwing more than $15 million down the tubes and stripping their roster of their best skill-position player.

Ryan's team faced an unreal amount of turmoil following the 2011 season, as unnamed members of the team called out Mark Sanchez, Brian Schottenheimer left and running back LaDainian Tomlinson pointed the finger at the wide receiver group for some of the problems. Holmes was at the center of all the internal problems.

If he continues along that path, he'll be an absolute waste of money. If Rex Ryan can straighten him out, then the wide receiver can still live up to the monster contract he signed in the 2011 offseason.

Ryan spoke publicly about all the problems confronting an organization he guaranteed would win the Super Bowl heading into the season.

“Our locker room wasn’t as close as it’s been in the past, obviously, but one thing we know is we’re going to fix it,” Ryan said in an interview with ESPN (via ProFootballTalk.com). “We might have been knocked down this year but we’re not knocked out. We’re going to be swinging, and there’s no doubt about it. But I can’t wait. It’s about moving forward, put that stuff behind us. But there’s things we’re going to learn from. This past season, 8-8 clearly is not good enough. We did have some issues where, obviously, I never did a good enough job of recognizing it and fixing it, but we’re fixing it right now. There’s no doubt about that.”

One of those issues, obviously, concerns the Jets' current quarterback. While Ryan supports Sanchez, he has to improve. We can blame some of his struggles on offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and Holmes or Plaxico Burress, but the former is gone to St. Louis and the latter were brought in by Ryan and general manager Mike Tannenbaum. At some point, the organization has to either see progress from their franchise quarterback or move on without him. Some of Sanchez's critics have said that they'd like to see Peyton Manning in New York next year.

“I can’t talk about Peyton Manning," Ryan said. "He’s on some other team right now. But Mark Sanchez is the future of the Jets. He’s a great quarterback and again, I can’t wait to get it going. You look at it: 4-2 in the postseason, 28-20 in the regular season over the three years that Mark and I have been together and we’re going to be together a long time.”

Credit to Ryan for standing up for his players but if the 2012 season looks anything like 2011, both he and Sanchez could be looking for work.

Rex Ryan spoke to the media Friday, ostensibly to introduce new Jets offensive coordinator Tony Sparano. The head coach also spent a non-trivial part of the conference call speaking to the quotes from anonymous teammates about quarterback Mark Sanchez, who was described as "lazy" and a "baby."

“I don’t know how many that don’t feel confident in Mark Sanchez,” he said according to the Newark Star-Ledger. “I’ll tell you this, if it’s not all of them, it’s the majority of our football team has a great deal confidence in Mark Sanchez. And when he walks through that door, his head is going to be held high, there’s no question about it. That’s what I know.”

The embattled head coach also addressed the unsourced nature of the comments.

"An anonymous source, or whatever it is, doesn’t speak on behalf of the entire football team; doesn’t put his name to a quote and things like that. Believe me, there's a lot of people that I know specifically -- a ton of our players, and everybody in this organization, in my opinion, that has a great deal of belief and admiration for Mark Sanchez."

During the team's end-of-year press conference last week, general manager Mike Tannenbaum admitted that Sanchez needs to play better. He echoed those sentiments Friday, though expressed them more diplomatically.

"He needs to be more consistent, and he'd be the first one to tell you that," Tannenbaum said. "With that being said, he's done a lot of good things over three years, and we're going to learn from where he can be better, and we’ll move forward. Having Coach Sparano here, we’re excited about those two guys working together."

And lest you fear that Sparano may be in over his head since he's never previously been a coordinator ... well, fear not.

There's more:"We’’ll be explosive. We’ll be able to get it down the field," Sparano said, presumably not having watched the Jets-Dolphins regular-season finale.

Sparano's optimism aside, here's the reality: Sanchez is entering his fourth NFL season. If he doesn't show marked improvement in 2012, he and Ryan both could be looking for new gigs 12 months from now.

Among the revelations: wide receiver and team captain Santonio Holmes needs an attitude adjustment, quarterback Mark Sanchez will be the 2012 starter, and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, the ire of many a Jets fan, would be welcomed back with open arms should he not land a head-coaching gig.

On Saturday, we wrote that while Schottenheimer's head-coaching fate remains undecided, the Jets are making contingency plans to fill his job. Two names mentioned as possible replacements: Tony Sparano and Dirk Koetter (although they weren't selling themselves as a two-for-one special). A day later, ESPN New York's Rich Cimini writes that he would be "stunned" if Schottenheimer returns to New York, adding "I could see him making a lateral move before returning."

Schottenheimer has been the Jets offensive coordinator since 2006 and appears to have the full support of his head coach and general manager. So what happened? Well, it's not uncommon for public comments to differ from personal beliefs. It happens all the time (see John Elway's recent remarks that Tim Tebow will be the Broncos' starter in 2012 … and then see how that changes in the coming weeks and months). Plus, sometimes relationships run their course. In fact, you could argue that Schottenheimer has overstayed his welcome in New York.

More details from Cimini:

"League insiders tell me the Jets are trying to save as much as possible on Schottenheimer's remaining contract -- two years, $3.2 million. (They'd have to eat it if they fire him.) That enormous, two-year extension he received last offseason, I'm told, was a reason why they couldn't get OL coach Bill Callahan to re-up before the end of the season. Apparently, the rising tide doesn't lift all boats, as far as the Jets are concerned."

Is Schottenheimer the primary reason for the Jets' 8-8 finish? No, of course not. Holmes' selfishness, Sanchez's inconsistency, and a defense that struggled at times in 2011 all played a part in a disappointing season.

That said, it's probably time for a change. The Jets need to find out if Sanchez can be their franchise guy. That'll be one of the primary duties of whoever the next coordinator might be. So when the Jets say they're making preparations just in case Schottenheimer doesn't return, they're telling the truth. It's just that, despite what Ryan and Tannenbaum said six days ago, it may not be Schottenheimer's decision.

Despite all assurances that coach Rex Ryan and general manager Mike Tannenbaum will get it all figured out, the Jets flamed out in quite a spectacular way in the second half of the season.

If it wasn’t Santonio Holmes figuratively urinating on the Captain’s C stitched on his jersey, it was Bart Scott flipping off a photographer. If it wasn’t the constant debate about whether offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer should be fired, it was a constant argument about whether Mark Sanchez should be disowned as the team’s quarterback of the future.

It was, to say the least, an uncomfortable locker room experience, according to quarterback Greg McElroy.

“It’s definitely not a fun place to be,” McElroy told an Alabama radio station on Wednesday, via the NY Daily News. “I can assure you.”

McElory was placed on Injured Reserve with a thumb injury, but that didn’t stop him from experiencing the unpredictability of a locker room in turmoil. Ryan said Monday that the team chemistry was off this season and that he needed to fix it (surely bringing back Holmes for another season will hinder that goal, eh?).

But maybe it’s more than just chemistry that needs to be fixed.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever been around extremely selfish individuals,” McElory said. “I think that’s maybe the nature of the NFL. But there were people within our locker room that didn’t care whether we won or [lost]… as long as they got their… they really had a good game individually. And that’s the disappointing thing.

"It’s going to take a lot to kind of come together next year. I think the fact that we struggled at times this year really led to a really corrupt mindset within the locker room. But I think we’re going to regroup and I know that we’ll be a better team because of the trials and tribulations this year.”

Scott's got bigger problems, though. Rod Boone of Newsday reports that Scott "likely played his final game as a Jet on Sunday."

The linebacker, who recorded 66 tackles in 2011 (a career low for him as a starter), is scheduled to make $4.5 million in 2012 and there's simply no way the Jets are going to pay that much for the production that Scott offers them at this stage.